Posted by Alan ChildressAn ABC News story yesterday, forwarded to us by Paul Caron (visiting San Diego), highlights the resource problem in many states for public defenders just trying to do their constitutionally-mandated effective assistance of counsel. Similar to a crisis we highlighted in 2006, involving New Orleans' criminal defense system in shards (and a clinical prof jailed for not having the resources to take a case), other states find their PDs taking action at real risk to themselves:

Faced with what they call severe budget shortfalls, several public defender
offices across the country say they may soon begin turning away thousands of
poor criminal defendants.

Statewide public defenders in Kentucky and Minnesota and local offices in
cities such as Atlanta and Miami say budget cuts are forcing them to fire or
furlough trial lawyers, leaving the offices unable to handle misdemeanor and, in
some instances, serious felony cases.

The cuts leave states scrambling to find a solution to a constitutional
dilemma: The Sixth Amendment requires the government to either provide poor
defendants with lawyers or release them.

The conflicts have prompted at least one lawsuit, brought on Wednesday by
several criminal suspects in Atlanta who may temporarily be without lawyers, and
could result in some public defenders being held in contempt of court.